A Capital Challenge
Walmart FLW Tour pros deal with tough conditions on day one at the Potomac
Rivers can be rollercoasters, and the Potomac River might be about to give the anglers fishing the Walmart FLW Tour finale a tough ride.
Two nasty storm systems have blown through in the last few days. According to FLW Tour pro and local Michael Hall, those could have been the two worst things to happen leading up to the tournament.
“After 30 years of fishing here, I know storms impact the bass on this river,” says Hall. “Those storms have certainly done that. The wind alone would have done it this week.”
What has Hall concerned is the dirty water that has taken over sections of the river. After the first storm, Hall says many of his best areas were too muddy to fish, but they gradually cleared up over the corresponding days. Yet after the storms Tuesday night that brought tornadoes and displaced several pros who were camping at Smallwood State Park, where the Tour launched this morning, he’s not sure what to expect today.
“I think guys are going to run to their water and find it all muddy, but I also think other guys are going to plan to fish muddy water and find their areas have cleared up,” says Hall.
While there has been talk of a lack of grass compared to years past, Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan says the habitat looked good to him, but the conditions made for some remarkably tough fishing during practice.
Morgan admits that he couldn’t even gauge what it would take weight wise to make the cut or win because he didn’t catch enough fish.
“If I got a bite I was scared to death to catch it because I didn’t want to burn that fish,” says Morgan. “It was that tough.”
Hall was a little more optimistic, saying he figured a couple guys will crack 20 pounds today, and he’s hoping that if the remaining storms in the forecast hold off that the fishing should improve going into the weekend.
A few other pros have also reported flurries of activity in practice that produced multiple 3-pound-plus bites, so there will definitely be quality limits brought to the scale this afternoon.
Swim jigs, ChatterBaits, frogs, shallow crankbaits and an assortment of other “usual” grass baits will all be in play this week as FLW prepares to crown its final Walmart FLW Tour champion, as well as Angler of the Year, Co-angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Stay tuned in at FLWFishing.com all week for complete coverage.
Conditions
Air temperature: mid-60s
Forecast high: mid-80s
Wind: SE at 7 mph
Forecast weather: light winds throughout the day with a 50 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms in the evening
Water temperature: upper 70s to low 80s
Tides: low – 8:38 a.m.; high – 3:26 p.m.
Moon phase: first quarter
Competition Format
In Walmart FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes in the two-day opening round. After day two the field is pared to the top 20 pros with non-fishing partners accompanying them Saturday. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
For more coverage
For those who can’t attend the weigh-in, FLWFishing.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings fans real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.
In addition to FLW Live, FLWFishing.com offers real-time updates from the water. Simply click on the tournament ID within the “On the Water” banner at the top of the FLW or Walmart FLW Tour home pages.
Walmart FLW Tour event information
Takeoff
Location: Smallwood State Park, 2750 Sweden Point Road, Marbury, MD
Time: 6:30 a.m. ET
FLW Live/Weigh-in
Days 1 and 2: 3 p.m. ET
Smallwood State Park
Days 3 and 4: 4 p.m. ET
Walmart, 40 Drury Dr., La Plata, MD
FLW Expo
Walmart, 40 Drury Dr., La Plata, MD
Date: Saturday and Sunday, 12-4 p.m. ET
Admission: FREE